Lifesaving suit



Feb. 3, 1942.' H. c. BALL L IFESAVING' SUIT 2 SheetQ-Sheet 1 Filed April1, 1940 flomzfw C/m'k BaZ Z H. C. BALL LIFESAVING SUIT Feb. 3, 1942.

Filed April 1, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet? f/orazlo CZa-rZ BaZZ Patented Feb.3, 1942 LIFESAVING SUIT Horatio Clark Ball, Arlington, Va., assignor toUniversal Life Saving Corporation, a corporation of Maryland ApplicationApril 1, 1940, Serial No. 327,295

7 Claims.

This invention relates to life-saving suits, and it has for its objectto provide a waterproof suit adapted to completely envelop a clothedperson, except the head, and to support such person in an uprightposition in the water for an indefinite period of time and with the headand shoulders completely out of the water. It is a further object of theinvention to provide a suit of the character indicated in which areincorporated improved means for completely excluding water from theinterior of the suit even in very rough seas.

The invention also contemplates the provision of means by which air maybe expelled from the leg portions of the suit after it has been donnedand before the wearer goes overboard. This latter provision is importantbecause, where the leg portions have to be made big enough toaccommodate the shoes and garments of the wearer, they are likely toentrap so much air as to cause them to be unduly buoyant. This in turncreates the possibility that the legs may be held too long a time uponthe surface, with consequent strangling of the wearer before he is ableto get his head above water.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in thedetaileddesoription which follows.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a suit constructed in accordance withthe invention, showing the suit in its closed condition;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the upper part of the suit with theparts in open condition;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view through the upper body portion ofthe suit on line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view through the frontportion of the collar and bib, hereinafter described;

Fig. 4a is a perspective view of the collar and associated parts inclosed position;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view through the collar on line 5-5 ofFig.8;

Fig. 6 is a detail view of the draw straps of the collar;

Fig. 7 is a detail view of the bib;

Fig. 8 is a transverse sectional view through the collar on line 88 ofFig. 5, and Fig. 9 is a sectional view through the foot.

Like numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the severalfigures of the drawings.

In the drawings, 5 designates the body portion of a suit that is made ofrubber or other suitable waterproof material. At its upper portion, thissuit is provided with an inner lining B of kapok or other suitablebuoyant material. This kapok is thickest at its top portion and taperstoward the waistline. This, in effect, provides a buoyant vest by whichthe upper portion of the trunk is supported well out of the water. 'Thearm portions may be provided with integral mitten-like ends I so that nowater can enter along the arms.

The lower leg portions are provided with constricting means by whichthey may. be drawn tight around the leg and foot portions after thewearer has donned the suit. Any suitable means may be provided for thispurpose. One such way is shown in the accompanying drawings where piecesof rubberized cloth 8 are cemented to the rear sides of the legs and arprovided along their edges with clasp elements 9 and ID or any othersuitable drawing devices adapted to constrict the lower leg portions ofthe suit for the purposes of expelling air therefrom. It is conventionalpractice to provide suits of this character with air tubes such as thatindicated at H. No claim is made to this'feature.

The body portion of the suit is open at its front after the mannercommon in overalls and like articles, whereby overlapping lapel portionsI! are provided (see Figs. 1, 2 and 3). These lapel portions are adaptedto be closed and drawn tight by suitable straps or like fasteningdevices To prevent water from entering the suit through this open frontportion, aninner bib I4 is provided. This bib is shown in detail in Fig.7.

The bib is cemented to the walls of the suit along its edges M M and MWhen the suit is opened up for the purpose of donning the same,

the bib spreads out to the position illustrated in Fig. '7, but when thestraps l3 draw the lapels together, then the bib falls into folds,leaving its upper portion [5 free to be drawn upwardly through thecollar as will presently be described. The collar it of the suit ispreferably formed of two layers of rubber cloth, these layers beingcemented together at their top edge, as indicated at l1 (Fig. 8). A'subcollar, comprising a web or sheet of soft and very pliablerubberized cloth, indicated at I8, is cemented or vulcanized at 89 tothe upper edge of the collar l6 and is folded over and downwardly insideof said collar asindicated at 20. The lower edge of this web ispreferably left free, though it may be cemented to the collar ifdesired.

The collar is provided with two fastening devices, one located at thefront of the collar near the upper edge thereof and comprising aconventional form a snap, such as ar commonly used upon galoshes and thelike, such snap being indicated at 2|. This initial fastening device isused to draw the front edges of the collar together after the suit hasbeen donned and before the upper straps I3 have drawn the lapels toclosed position.

When engaging the snap 2i the wearer grasps a small, and preferablyrubber, transverse bar 22 that is carried by the top of the bib I4 (seeFig. 7 With one hand the wearer holds this bar in elevated position topull the top end of the bib upwardly and then, with the other hand,engages the collar by means of snap 2|, over the outside of the bib. Indoing this, the collar is drawn as tightly together as can beconveniently done.

The fastener 2| then serves to hold the collar in this preliminaryclosed position while the wearer folds the upper portion of the biboutwardly and downwardly over the collar and engages the stiffeningmember 22 within the lapels and beneath the shoulder portions of thegarment. Then when the upper straps iii are drawn upon to pull thelapels tightly together, this downwardly tucked end of the bib issecured within the body of the suit so that even in very rough seas, itwill not be dislodged and cannot work back down through the collar tothe inside of the suit.

It will be seen that both hands of the operator are left free to effectthe last-named adjustments, by virtue of the fact that the fastener 2|holds the collar in closed position during these operations. However, itis desired to have a much tighter and more waterproof engagement of thecollar about the neck than can be effected by this necessarilysingle-handed operation of initially closing the collar. To that end,straps 23 have their bight portions passed through the opposite ends ofa loop 24. One end of each of these straps is secured at 25 to a buckle21, and the other end is passed at 26 through buckle 21. Thus, the ends23* of these straps project sufficiently to permit the ready grasping ofthe same for the purpose of constricting the collar substantially aroundits entire length tightly about the neck to cause the web l8 to snuglyengage the flesh of the wearer. This web, in effect, constitutes apacking which by its flexibility fills all the interstices betweencollar and neck to such an extent as to completely exclude water.

A suit of the character indicated will keep a man afloat for many days,and, if suitably insulated as it may be, will prevent the injuriouseffects so common from chilling when persons are forced to spend hoursin the water of the open sea as a result of shipwrecks or other marinedisasters. The kapok lining is disposed at such point as to insure thatthe upper portion of the torso will be held out of the water and thatthe vital body portions will be best protected from chill.

I preferably employ weights 28, located at the underside of the footportions of the suit, these Weights being designed to cause the feet tosink quickly and to bring the wearer upright in the water as promptly aspossible. It will be noted that these weights taper, with their thickestportions toward the rear, so that they tend to bring the wearer to atruly vertical position.

Since the interior of the suit is kept completely dry, it is possiblefor the wearer to tuck inside of the suit, before closing it,illuminating flares, matches, flashlight, and even a limited supply offood. Further, since the buoyancy of the suit is such as to hold theshoulders well out of the water, the wearer could, with care, loosen thecollar in reasonably calm water to have access to the flares or otherneeded articles.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the preciseconstruction set forth but that it includes within its purview whateverchanges fairly come within either the terms or the spirit of theappended claims.

Having described my invention, whatI claim is:

l. A waterproof life-saving suit of dimensions to completely embrace thewearer, except the head, said suit being open at its upper front portionto provide lapel portions, means for drawing said lapel portions towardeach other, a collar carried by the suit and permanently united thereto,a preliminary fastener at the front of the collar, and an additionalfastener means extending around the collar of a nature to constrict thecollar at substantially all points when drawn upon, a Web havingwatertight connection at its lower and side portions with the body ofthe suit, said web lying rearwardly of the open front of the suit toexclude water, the upper portion of the web being free and long enoughto extend upwardly inside of and then be folded downwardly and outwardlyover the outside of said collar, and being provided upon its end with astiffening member of such dimensions that the ends of said member may beengaged and held beneath the shoulder portions of the suit to preventreverse movement of the web through the collar.

2. A waterproof life-saving suit dimensioned to completely embrace thewearer, except the head, and having an integral relatively stiff collaropen at the front only, a web of soft rubber much thinner and morepliable than the material of the collar, said soft web being united witha stiff collar along the upper portion only ofthe latter, the remainderof said web being free to yield in all directions, thereby to have awaterproof seating about the neck of the wearer, and constricting meansupon the exterior of the stiff rubber collar,

3. A suit of the character described, formed of waterproof material andof dimensions adapted to completely embrace the wearer except the head,said suit being split at its upper front portion to provide lapelportions, fastenings for securing said lapel portions together, a collaropen at the front, secured to the suit, drawing means carried by thecollar for constricting it about the neck of the wearer, a bib of softwaterproof material attached to the interior of the suit rearwardly ofthe split portion, said bib having a free upper end portion of a lengthto extend upwardly inside of the collar and then downwardly andoutwardly over said collar to a point where its end may be embracedwithin and retained by the lapels and a lateral extension upon the freeend of the bib of such length as to prevent upward movement of the bibout of the body portions of the suit.

4. A suit of the character described, formed of waterproof material andof dimensions adapted to completely embrace the entire person of theuser except the head, said suit being split at its upper front portionto provide lapels, fastenings for securing said lapel portions together,a collar open at the front, secured to the upper portion of the suit,two separate fastening means upon said collar, one of a non-drawingnature, constituting a preliminary fastener, and the other of a drawingnature adapted to constrict the collar when drawn upon, a bib-like webhaving water-tight connection at its lower and side portions with thebody of the suit, said web lying rearwardly of said split portion andexcluding water at that point, the upper end of the web being ofsufficient length to extend upwardly inside of the collar and to be thenfolded down-' wardly and outwardly over the outside of said collar, alaterally extending flexible stiffening strip upon the extreme end ofthe bib of a length so that its ends may be tucked beneath the shoulderportions of the suit to prevent reverse movement of the web through thecollar.

5. A life saving suit of the character described, made of waterproofmaterial and shaped to envelop the entire person of the user except thehead, said suit being split at its upper front portion to provide thelapels as described, a soft rubber bib attached to the interior of thesuit rearwardly of said split portion and having water-tight engagementwith the suit at its bottom and sides, means for drawing the edges ofthe lapels forcibly toward each other to close the open front of thesuit and to constrict the upper portion of the suit and draw it togtherand draw the shoulder portions together, a collar upon the suit, meansfor constricting said collar, the upper end of said bib being free andof a length to extend upwardly inside of said collar, then downwardlyover the outside of said collar to a point below said collar, and aflexible stiffening rod upon the end of said free portion of the bib, ofa length to engage beneath the shoulder portions of the garment and tobe held by said shoulder portions when said portions are drawn to-

